Annette V Hart's Blog: The ramblings of Annette Hart, page 8

Last minute panic!

OK I admit it: I definitely prevaricated over my final read through of "Love and Restitution". I was reluctant to relinquish responsibility of this baby. I've just had 1 or 2 final glitches to iron out and now I'm in a panic: are there other typos and mistakes I've missed? My husband tries to reassure me (while prising my fingers from around the tightly clutched manuscript) that all books have some little errors but, of course, I want mine to be perfect.

Now my baby has moved on; I can only hope for the best!

Published my baby...

Oh boy! I can't believe I haven't posted since my book, "The Keystone", was released on the 22nd February! Especially as this was 'my baby' - my first proper, complete story. When I told my mum it was being published as an ebook she was very pleased, saying she had thought this one was good. I'm just delighted it - and my characters - are getting a chance to breathe, particularly when they were born out of my love for Arthurian legends.

A lull in activity...

Although I have two books in production, everything is very quiet at the moment. Last week I sent back the edited manuscript for "The Keystone" - well, emailed it. Digital publishing is still strange to me! And we've agreed a possible publication date of the 22nd of February. But this week has been very quiet. (Excepting my children squabbling over half-term, of course!) I should look over the second book in this series which I wrote many years ago and see if it is any good.

I'm still eagerly waiting a glimpse of the cover of the third book in my Athlandia series "Love and Restitution".

The Keystone

Cover design excitement...

I've just received the cover design for my latest e-book (The Keystone) and I'm very excited! I love it and my children love it too: imaginative, atmospheric, intriguing.

Still prevaricating?

What with Christmas, the New Year and birthdays, I've had little time to get on with my proofreading. However, with the holiday debris swept away and the children back at school, I should now be able to find time to get on with it!

Assessing the first proof... what I should be doing!

The first proof of "Love and Restitution" has been returned, edited, and what I should be doing is reading through, assessing the editor's comments and making changes/additions myself. However, Xmas is looming large so shopping, wrapping, cleaning and cooking has taken priority - that Xmas cake doesn't ice itself! However, I don't think the publishers will expect it back now until after Xmas so I am sure I can squeeze a little bit of time to myself during the holiday to read through the proofs.

What's in a name?

Sigh... Did I choose the wrong name for my book? When I decided on the title for my first book, "Blood and Allegiance", it was before the surge in vampire stories. Now I can see a problem with it: people may think it is a book about vampires and either be put off or disappointed! The 'blood' in the title means 'family'.

I wonder if other authors, like Sophie Mckenzie and Blood Ties, have this problem?

Exciting opportunity...

I am really excited to be publishing a fourth book alongside the third of my current series. Although I will only be publishing it as an e-book to start with, I am really excited as I wrote the story several years ago and I was pleased with how it worked out. It is written for children slightly younger than my current series but stays in the same genre of fantasy. It'll need a little bit of re-jigging but I will certainly enjoy doing it!

Almost finished...

Having finished my illustrations and chosen the final selection, I just have one or two to rework before I post them off to my publishers. But the real world has intervened and my drawing is on hold while I do some 'proper' paid work, (desperately needed before Xmas).

Faced my demon...

I got on a role with my illustrations and decided to face my demon and try and draw a horse. I was pleased with the result (admittedly just part of a horse) and it boosted my morale. My job has grown as I've done 2 pictures for some chapters - final choice for publication at a later date! I am now just over half way through and 2 pens down. Hooray!